THE WHEAT CROPS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1356, 7 February 1865, Page 3

THE WHEAT CROPS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

(From the Register, Jan. 6.) As the Government usually take 110 steps to collect the agricultural statistics of the colony until the end of March or the beginning of April, we shall have to wait some months before any official information is obtainable relative to the yield of the present harvest. We are assured, however, on good authority, that the crops in some places, and especially to the east and south-east of Adelaide, are almost a failure. In several localities where the yield is generally good the crops will be hardly worth reaping; aod taking the colony as a whole, it is generally considered that the total produce of the harvest will be less than it was last year, notwithstanding the increased acreage which has been placed under crop. Complaint has reached us from the bill districts with regard to this unfortunate failure; and even if the yield in the north were equal to what it was last year, which is very unlikely, there would still be a serious deficiency compared with the anticipated result. Had the harvest been as good as that of 1863-4, we might have expected something like 90,000 tons of flour for export during the ensuing year, as 75,000 tons were sent away before the close of November last, and there is no doubt that the increased quantity of land put under wheat crop was fully equal to the increase of the previous year. _ As matters stand, however, no one ventures to calculate upon any increase of yield whatever, and it is even

doubtful whether the export of last ye,av will be maintained. The rust and blight which have made tbia serious havoc in our wheatfields appear to hare affected good land and bad land-soil which has been frequently cropped, and soil which has never before been sown. The

ueaso of the disease is a mystery to the farmer, and thus he feels no protection in the future, for he does not know how to protect himself from a recurrence of the evil. \V"e trust, however, that extended observation, with a careful comparison of notes between persons in different localities, will lessen this disadvantage. But it is useless, probably to preach to the farmers on the wisdom of organization for this purpose at the present moment. Those who have any crops at all are busy in securing them, and those who have, none are disappointed and out of spirit. Still, the cause of these failures ought to be sought for. Here we see large I areas of fine wheat-growing country stricken with blight; and this to the farmer must be ft matter of as much importance as even the question of opening fresh wheat-growing country. His crops fail on the good land already in his possession, and it is no satisfaction for such a man to be told that he ought to get lots of more land some hundreds of miles away. The particulars which have reached us in reference to the hill district, do not, generally, apply to other parts of the colony, though the crops are nowhere in first-rate condition. In the neighbouring colony of Victoria, too, there is, apparently, a great deficiency. A practical farmer, who has lately travelled through the agricultural part of that colony, assures us that the yield will be far below the average. This statement is borne out by information from other sources, so that there is every indication of a considerable scarcity in .breadstuffs during the current year. Under all the circumstances of the case, it would be highly desirable to get the agricultural statistics collected as early as possible. They are generally not laid before the public until they are practically useless ;in fact, not until the greater part of the year's produce has been sent to market, : and not until the farmer has prepared his i ground for the crops of the following year. , This seems an unnecessary delay, for in the ; northern part of the colony the wheat harvest , begins early in December, and it is now in - that locality that the chief portion of the j last year's produce is grown. We did not see, then, why the work of collecting the | agricultural statistics should be always postponed until the end of March or the beginning j of April. The whole of the colonies are interested in obtaining reliable information on this subject as early as possible. In the meantime, however, we may fairly judge of the approximate result of the harvest by the statements which reach us from our country correspondents. Looking at all the facts before us, we think it is very uulikely that the average yield will this year be more than eleven or twelve bushels to the acre, whereas last year it was fourteen bushels to the acre. A glance at the reports of our country correspondents will show the grounds on which we come to this conclusion. We have already spoken of the failure in the eastern districts, where — from the Meadows to Gumeracha —the crops are light, and in some cases §o bad that not even seed will be obtained from them. Then, with regard to the north, whilst our Kapunda correspondents speak of a better yield than Tvas— atr~~ftpgt —aTJTftJfpatM; Auburn that the return in that neighbourhood will be fifty per cent, lower than it was last year. Altogether, the prospects of the harvest are by no means brilliant as far as quantity is concerned, though the farmers who have any crops at all may look forward to good prices.